I'd been using the full-tilt ver of Paint Shop pro for abt a year.
It replaced the FREE copy of ver 3.1 (that actually works just peachy)...
actually, BETTER that retail PSP because it readily takes you to the single
pixel level faster
I ran into not having enough effects & wanted to make spiffy borders for
web applications... picture frames actually.
As a college student, I could get programs for 1/2 off....
so I ADOBE Page maker (for another project) which contained Photoshop LE...
they aren't kidding when they mean "Limited Edition".
I STILL didn't have all the features I wanted, so I dropped the $300 or so
and got Photoshop 5.0..... not only is it a SOB to learn from scratch
(I've got an AAs in Computer Science, a BA in MIS, 20+ years as a
Computerized Numerical Control [CNC] machinist, 8 years as a Computerized
Coordinate Measuring Machine [CMM] programmer, plus 9-10
certificates of completion from programming classes, AND I build PC's)....
so I'm not exactly "computer illiterate".
PLUS, I still can't make the spiffy picture frames one sees quite often
on web sites... apparently the "scan masters" (like BlueBird, Enya & etc) use some
other program.
For 98% of my images (I've got close to 9gb) I use PaintShop Pro...
which (IIRC) costs abt $120 retail.
I also got ADOBE's Acrobat..... which ain't got diddly to do with image handling
EXCEPT one of the 2 programs contacts ADOBE's website every time I launch it
and tosses a cookie in my Temp Internet Folder..... most folks wouldn't notice
(given the high number of AOL/MSIE -happy airheads that don't know what a cookie is
let alone notice where it went).
PLUS the apparent ARROGANCE of ADOBE.... their site is more tourist that user friendly.
(Tourist sites, like those in the REAL WORLD[tm], want you to visit, spend LOTS of
money, then go the Hell AWAY. Too bad if you want help. Come back & spend more...
or not because you're taking up space someone else wants... and they have money.) lol
Know what I mean? The ONLY way I can see me getting FULL value from ADOBE is to
sign up for the graphic arts program at the college... & they use APPLE exclusively
(so not only will I have to learn the ADOBE "language", but APPLE as well). Scheesh
I guess they thought they were like Microsoft's "Flight Simultor" where the
companion books are the "JEPPS" manual & actual "real life" flight line books.
And their "built in" picture frames look fine... if you're 8 & it's your first website.
(The one I really, really, really want is where it looks like a photo "floating"
above the background color & graduated shadow around it to emphasize that it's a photo
floating highlighted with an isosceles light source... turned up corner is optional.
I can do the wave & turned up corner... the shadow is a PITA.)
If you have the time to sit down, & go step-by-step thru the book's lessons
to learn Photoshop.... it MAY be more versatile. Good for you because you have
that kind of time. In the meanwhile, I'll be using PaintShop Pro & getting
something done.
PLUS... occasionally I'll download a JPEG that NO program will read...
till I fire up the KODAK IMAGER utility & resave it. THEN Adobe or PSP can open it.
Lemme see.... a $300 program won't open the file, but a FREE program (that I didn't
want on my hard drive to begin with) CAN open it. Makes sense ..... NOT!
Scoot
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